Glenrothes 25 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)

The third review from the Boutique-y Whisky Company in conjunction with the Whisky Wire and we are hitting our stride with the kind of whisky I enjoy.

This is a review of a very well aged independently bottled whisky from the Glenrothes distillery. The official releases of Glenrothes are also independent bottlings weirdly. While Highland Park owners Edrington might own the actual distillery they sold the brand to London based Berry Bros & Rudd in exchange for the Cutty Sark blend in 2010.

This is the modern way for independent bottlers to survive in this new marketplace. As the prices of whisky continue to increase and we are led to believe the demand for whisky has never been so good. Independent bottlers are being squeezed out of the quality casks which used to be relatively easy to source. By buying in to official brand lines like Glenrothes or owning a distillery like Gordan & MacPhail rejuvenating Benromach they are diversifying and tapping in to the official brand market which guarantees a whisky supply.

The Boutique-y Whisky Company has started to diversify its line up now as well. As well as selling malts, blends and grains they are now selling Gins through a sister brand called, you guessed it, “That Boutique-y Gin Company” the current lineup of releases available can be found at the Master of Malt website.

The Dram

This is the first time in my mini series of new releases from the Boutique-y company that they still have stock. The link to buy can be found here for £119.95 which even for this 50cl bottle is exceptional value in this marketplace. This release is natural cask strength at 49.7% ABV whereas an official 1988 vintage bottled in 2014 will cost a cool £350 for a full size bottle at 43%.

Tasting Notes

Colour – lemon juice

Nose – on first nosing there is a alcohol harshness to move past. Once you do though this is a fruity complex range of tinned fruits in syrup and coconut is there as well.

Palate – no harshness without water. The mouth coating is thick and creamy as well. The taste follows the nose with ladles of fruity syrup.

Finish – The finish brings out the spicy oak flavours and caramelised sugars. The finish is long and lingering long after the glass is empty.

Final Thoughts

There is a certain style of whisky which can only be achieved with age. Those deep and rounded cask driven flavours can not be achieved without taking the time to mature. That is not to say age is everything but if you want a certain old school style of wood influenced whisky you have to give the whisky time to shine.

This Glenrothes was also interesting being a bourbon cask matured whisky when Speyside is known for their sherry maturation and a lot (all) of the releases I see from Glenrothes contain a lot of sherry casks.

Of the five samples being reviewed this was the least oddball whisky of the lot. This is a straight up and down quality older whisky at a good price. Recommended.